William Burroughs called him “The Pope of Trash,” but legendary counterculture fi lmmaker John Waters – the pencil-thin mustached man who’s hatched such fetid favorites as Desperate Living, Female Trouble and Pink Flamingoes – prefers a different label.

“I am,” he said succinctly, “a documentary whore.”

And it’s his love of the genre that brought the part-time P’town resident to the shores of the Salton Sea. (Sort of). He recently visited Palm Springs, California, for a screening of the critically-acclaimed 2004 documentary Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea, a look at the celebrity- studded haven that has emerged as one of the country’s worst ecological disasters. The “sea” in southeastern California, actually the state’s largest lake, has been loved to near-death by recreation seekers. Waters agreed to narrate the fi lm because, he said, “when I saw it, I was fascinated. It reminded me of what’s going on in Provincetown and in Baltimore. It was as if I was watching real estate porn – it was so tragic in a very weird way.”

The film also has appearances by Sonny Bono, who attempted to “save” the Salton Sea. Mention the diminutive dynamo who went from pop music to politics and you can (almost) see the smile ripening on Waters’ face.

“I always liked Sonny,” said Waters. “People thought he was a joke, but they forget he had an incredible knowledge of rhythm and blues music. When we were making Hairspray, Ruth Brown told me that Sonny was the only white man who was producing what was then called ‘race records.’” Waters says that he argues with other friends who are “surprised” that the openly gay moviemaker could be friends with a politician who was against gay marriage. “I didn’t know I had to fi ght a straight man over this,” Waters cooed.

“I didn’t know that just because I am gay I have to be for gay marriage. Would I marry another man? Absolutely not. I don’t have a partner. I have friends I see, but trust me, no one could live in this house but me.”

Waters is excited about his small- screen series to be shown on the gay cable network Here, Movies That Will Corrupt You. He handpicked 13 fi lms and will introduce them in 13 rooms of his home. Part of the series’ appeal is that audiences will be seeing fi lms “no one has ever really seen,” said Waters. “Some of them are pretty horrifying. Some are extreme and important and smart. And all must be seen.” Waters hopes the series will appeal to “a gay audience that is pretty adventuresome, and really cool straight people.” He also hopes the series is successful so that it will be renewed. The reason? He laughed. “I need to show off and introduce a fi lm in my bathroom.” And what sick spirit, what dire dysfunction, in his childhood caused him to be so attracted to such tasteless treats?

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “I’ve been to a shrink for the answer. I have taken long looks at my parents, but they have always been loving and supportive. I can only think that I made a career out of bad taste because I had the rules of good taste over-drilled into me.” He paused, then laughed. “My mother called the other day and asked if she got Here where she lived. I said no. She said, ‘Good!’”